Disruptive Technologies, Education and Some Social Issues » Tech

How to Use Twitter Properly as a Business Tool

dinu — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 06:09:30 +0000

Twitter has been around for a while now and it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Twitter can be a very powerful tool for businesses. Many businesses unfortunately don’t know how to use it to its full potential and will waste a lot of time on something that probably won’t have any measurable return.

There are two main business uses for twitter,

1) market and sell your product and

2) maintain a good public image and maintain good public relations.

Too many focus on the first point and don’t even consider the second. The key is balance…To start with, you have to put into place some sort of guidelines or rules for whomever is maintaining your businesses Twitter personality. This is because Twitter, like most social media, is a wonderful waste of time and will suck you in if you are not careful. One hundred forty characters are more than enough especially when they are accompanied by images and links. Being witty is great and may get you a few more “retweets” but if you spend half the day trying to be witty on Twitter you won’t get a thing done. The best thing to do is allow only a certain amount of time each day to dive in. Adjust to your business needs accordingly as you gain or lose traction; the basic idea is to prevent yourself from tweeting all day and not getting any business coming in from it.

So what if the best time to send out your tweets to your audience happens to be at specific times or throughout the day but keeping up with it would fly in the face of not wasting time? There is an easy answer; all you need is to do sign up for a social media dashboard. There are a number of these out there with various features usually with a free version that does more than enough when you are first starting out. The basic feature you need is the ability to schedule your tweets, this way you can spend a half-hour every day or an hour every week on your social media and be done with it.

Sending out your company message and promotions is great, you should do that, but in moderation. Now that you have the ability to send out tweets 24-7 doesn’t mean you should. People will stop subscribing to you and just ignore your stream if they are constantly broadsided with “BUY! BUY! BUY!”. This is where you have the opportunity to build your businesses public image and engage with your customers at large about your industry. All you have to do is make a little commentary on current news and point people at things that will help them understand your industry better. Remember it’s okay to be professional but Twitter is an informal realm, so don’t take yourself too seriously.

Pat Lindle is a marketing manager at D-Mac Industries, a metal deck / steel deck facility found in Alpharetta, GA. He is also a social media coordinator and moderator of the company’s blog.

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Google’s Internet TV and Controversies

dinu — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:23:54 +0000

Now when it already rules your computer, Google wants a beachhead to sit on your TV. For internet TV fans, Google has come up with something really interesting, something that can transform your high-definition TV set into an exceptional Internet-surfing device. This is really going to revolutionize how websites and programming are experienced.

However, the introduction of Google TV is not without controversies. In its voracious quest to deliver complete search results along with its ability to track what viewers do, the company is actually triggering a firestorm. From Hollywood to Washington, critics are saying bad things about the implications for privacy, competition, and even piracy.

Internet TV is the latest craze for sure, but the technology requires specifically configured TV sets. Once you get a right TV set, finding content online is a snap. You just need to type a specific subject or the name of the show into the search bar; you can do it using your wireless keypad. Enter it and Google TV will help you see content and videos that come from a number of platforms – from YouTube as well as from other sources, including broadcast and pay-TV channels.

The problem is that in order to provide all this, the company has started a war over the use of intellectual property. That’s why some major broadcasting companies are not allowing their content to be viewed through Google TV. Another argument made against the use of Google TV is that it is going to inspire people to view pirated videos, which can be found and streamed onto digital TV sets with the help of Google TV. The critics don’t stop here and have some other things to say. For instance, piracy experts believe that this particular form of internet TV may allow Google to collect data on its users. It may be used to study your viewing habits, which is going to help advertisers produce relevant ads. It makes your TV set an intelligent device, but most Americans are still afraid of having their TV sets turned into a device that has memory and the ability to monitor them.

The privacy concerns get to the center of attraction with Sony producing a line of smart TVs with Google TV built in. They say that the TV is going to keep a record of all sites you visit more frequently; in fact, it may keep track of your favorite podcasts, online series, online news feeds, and recorded videos.

On the other hand, Google TV’s piracy policy is also available to say a few things about the way they plan to work. It is clearly mentioned that the company is not going to collect TV-viewing histories, at least for now – but they may do so in the near future with users’ permission. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that Google TV’s privacy policy states that the company reserves the right to store and collect “non-personalized” information even without asking for permission. It all implies that though Google’s critics have a lot to say about this new technology, internet TV users are going to enjoy this technology, at least until the FCC rules or legislation have something specific to say about it.

The article is contributed by Calvin Scott. Calvin is fascinated with technology and loves updating his knowledge bank by browsing the net. Visit his site for internet and internet en tv.Similar Posts:

Buying New Cars: Does it Make Sense for You?

dinu — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:17:00 +0000

You’ve probably heard that when you drive a new car off the lot it automatically drops in value. But does it really?

Yes, it makes sense that you walked into the dealership to buy your new car and you paid the retail price. It also makes sense that if you drive it off the lot, stop, hit it into reverse, and want to return your car to the dealership, they won’t buy back your car for that same price. Instead, they would only buy back your car at wholesale. It’s called depreciation and it also occurs as the time passes. Estimates range depending on car and mileage from 15% to 20% of your car’s value lost each year.

When else does the value of your new car drop significantly? When your model year ends. Your 2012 model won’t be worth as much when the 2013 is available. It’s similar to the new iPhone 4GS you just picked up. Once 5 comes out, 4GS won’t be worth as much.

So why would you want to buy a new car if it loses value so quickly? Turns out, there are a few good reasons:

High Enjoyment Payback

Sure, if you tried to return that brand new car you just paid an arm and a leg for, you wouldn’t get your limbs back. However, returning your new car isn’t something you want to do. When you buy a new car, if you’ve done your research, taken the test drive, and fell in love with the car, you’d have no reason to take it back.

You have to take into consideration how much happy you get from the car. Happy, it turns out, is the direct result of a good purchase. A good purchase when it comes to cars very well can mean the peace of mind you get with warranties … and the enjoyment you get out of the bells and whistles of brand new car.

Low Maintenance Costs

When you buy a new car, you won’t need any maintenance for the first several thousand miles. After that, you’re only looking at an oil change and tune-up. In today’s hard economy, many car manufacturers are even covering these costs. Unlike used cars, your new car won’t need new tires, brakes, battery, exhaust system or more during the first few years-plus of your ownership.

This goes for any large purchase. For instance, if you’re looking into trailers for sale to give your brand new truck even more hauling power, consider a new trailer and you won’t have the extra expenses as you might with used.

Warranties Mean Peace of Mind

Today’s warranties cover more than they did in previous years. In fact, many luxury carmakers are offering warranties of four years and up to 60,000 miles. Add these comprehensive warranties to the corrosion resistance and powertrains warranties offered by automakers and you’re driving off the lot with not only your sweet new ride, but peace of mind.

Guest Author Byline Now that you know more about the advantages of buying new cars, expand your horizons and consider learning more about new trailers for sale. Post written by guest blogger Michelle Anderson.Similar Posts:

Who Are Those 50 Million Google Plus Users ?

Kenney Jacob — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:16:52 +0000

The rise of Google + has been unprecedented. It took only 16 days for the social network to reach over 10 million users, and it has now been estimated that there are over 50 million users on Google +. But where are these users coming from? Who are they, and will they continue to use the service as a replacement for Facebook and Twitter?

While the rapid increase of Google + users is impressive, it is by no means a barometer for the future. Yes, it took Facebook and Twitter much longer to reach 10 million users but they were also starting from the ground up. Google has integrated Google + into Chrome, Gmail, and Youtube accounts so it’s pretty much impossible to avoid. They already had a huge base to draw from and people signed up in droves to see what all the buzz was about. And even as those numbers continue to rise you have to wonder if those people that signed up are actually using the service.

A recent study was done by the data visualization firm, Brime, and they concluded that about 70% of the users were men and most of them were young men who were really into technology. In other words, they were “geeks” who fell in love with the complexities and power of the new social network Google created. So, of course geeks love Google + but what about everybody else?

Facebook was originally started for college students and so a large part of their early numbers came from college dorms. Google + has actually seen a decline in the number of users that claim to be college students, according to a recent study by Experian Hitwise. Could it be that many of those students are just so connected on Facebook and used to its interface that they don’t know what purpose Google + has? After all, when Facebook was started social media was fairly new. Sure, there was Myspace but that wasn’t for everyone. And with Facebook just passing the 800 million user mark, it’s pretty much a part of our everyday lives.

So while techy geeks are loving the interface of Google +, many others that have most of their friend’s on Facebook have seen little activity in their Google + circles. The technology buffs are sharing content like crazy, but it’s not the type of tool that people are using to share more trivial knowledge about their lives or recent pictures of their children.

Many people who use Facebook and Twitter on a regular basis will find it a very difficult transition to go over to Google + if their friends are still on the other networks, and this is an uphill battle that Google seems dedicated to take on. But only after the numbers cool down and we can actually see who is really using the service will we know if it is a viable competition for the other social networks.

Right now, Google + is the shiny new object in the room that everybody wants, but the service is really only a big success if people use it. Sign-ups are great for padding the stats and making your company look good, but only if they stay and use the network will it count for anything. And in a world where “Facebook” has become a verb and “liking” comments and pictures has become a part of our daily routine, it will be hard for anyone to completely change the game so early on.

Right now, the techy geeks are all over Google + and writing their rave reviews, and if this is the only demographic that Google intended to reach they should be very happy. But we all know Google wants to take over the world, right? So this battle will be an interesting one to watch.

Jon writes for a website that reviews the best identity theft protection services with articles on Lifelock reviews and other companies as well.Similar Posts:

C0c00n 2010-International Information Security Day in Cochin

agn — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:45:23 +0000

Cybercrime has become a 100 billion dollar business that now surpasses the value of illegal drug trade world wide as one of the CEO of widely renowned security software quoted. In this situation ,Kochi City Police along with the Matriux Security Community is organizing a 2 day International Security and Hacking Conference titled c0c0n 2010- previously known as Cyber Safe, as part of the International Information Security Day. Various technical, non-technical, legal and community events are organized as part of the program. c0c0n 2010 is scheduled on 05, 06 Aug 2010.

The number of digital security incidents and cyber crimes are increasing daily on a proportionate rate. The industry is demanding more and more security professionals and controls to curb this never ending threat to information systems.

c0c0n is aimed at providing a platform to discuss, showcase, educate, understand and spread awareness on the latest trends in information, cyber and hi-tech crimes. It also aims to provide a hand-shaking platform for various corporate, government organizations including the various investigation agencies, academia, research organizations and other industry leaders and players for better co-ordination in making the cyber world a better and safe place to be.

Starts: Thursday August 05, 2010, 08:00AM
Ends: Friday August 06, 2010, 05:00PM

Location: Dream Hotel, Kadavanthra, Cochin, KERALA 682020 IN

Tickets can be booked here

C0C00n Facebook Twitter Hashtag:#c0c0n2010Similar Posts:

Netizens meet with Dr.Shashi Tharoor

jkeverywhere — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:35:35 +0000

Netizens who are residents of Thiruvananthapuram city will now have a chance to interact and share their concerns with Dr.Shashi Tharoor who is the Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram constituency and now the minister of state for External Affairs. The venue is Hotel Geeth International, Thiruvananthapuram on Novemeber 17, 2009 Tuesday. For those netizens who are interested in beingpart of the meeting please visit the following URL and get your name registered. http://twvt.us/NMST. THe twitter tag is #NMSTSimilar Posts:

Tender to Setup a State Data Center And Some Questions

Kenney Jacob — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 11:02:49 +0000

Today I saw a saw a tender notice by the Kerala State IT Mission for setting up a state data center for the government of Kerala. The notice reads

Inviting competitive bids from qualified bidders against revised request for proposal (RFP) for appointment of an agency for Design, Site Preparation, Supply, Installation, Maintenance and Operations of Physical and IT Infrastructure of a State Data Centre in Kerala, Thiruvananathapuram, for the Government of Kerala.

Tender Fee : Rs 5000/-

Earnest Money Deposit : Rs 5,000,000 (50 Lakhs)

The detailed tender notice also asks for 3 years experience in managing a 2500Sqft datacenter.

I am not a Data Center expert, but I did some research about the nuances of setting up a Datacenter, called up a few friend who are working in data centers and who has experience in setting up these. My findings follows.

Setting up a a datacenter involves purchase of high value equipments.

Majority of the “non technology” work is about setting up power delivery systems, Air conditioning, fire safety and access control devices.

Once you have all these, then you need skilled manpower to manage the rest, and that’s something you have plenty in Kerala. Most of the datacenters around the world are supported from Kerala.

Now the question is, why the deposit money of 50 Lakhs. Is it to ward off smaller companies in Kerala who might have the know how to do it.

Could we have split the tender into different tenders, for equipment purchase, setting up physical space, providing operations support etc ?

Why is it that companies with more turnover gets more points in the tender evaluation process ?

Are we overlooking the security aspects of a datacenter that might hold sensitive government data

I am pretty sure only Reliance, Tata and Bharati will be bidding for this.

And why do these folks always write a stupid clause in every tender ?

“Kerala State IT Mission reserves the right to reject any or all the bids in whole or in part at any time without mentioning any reason thereof”

Can a government body openly say that we are not accountable for our actions ?Similar Posts:

Barcamp kerala 6

jkeverywhere — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:12:56 +0000

Barcamp is back. Barcamp kerala 6 will happen at the serene campus of Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Kakkanad on the 11th of October 2009. Barcamp is not new to Cochin, Barcamp Kerala 2& 3 were hosted by the Cochin University Campus.

For those who raise their eye brows on hearing the word bar.. Barcamp has nothing to do with drinking or bars.

BarCamp is an ad-hoc unconference born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from attendees. Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join. There are no registration fees or any charges for a barcamp as this is a user-generated conference. You are invited to volunteer for various activities for putting up a successful camp.

BarCamp Kerala is your best chance to meetup all the coolest techies from Kerala. If you are a techie of any scale, do make it to BarCampKerala!

Please do blog about the event and let maximum people knowSimilar Posts:

The Antivirus biz

The Nomad — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:08:43 +0000

I was going through the Kaspersky India’s estore to find out the prices of antivirus subscriptions and I found a rather interesting pattern:

Kaspersky ® Internet Security 2010- 1 PC- 1 Year subscription costs 1559 INR

Kaspersky ® Internet Security 2010- 1 PC- 2 Years subscription costs 4032INR

Similarly-

Kaspersky ® Internet Security 2010- 3 PC- 1 Year subscription costs 1885 INR

Kaspersky ® Internet Security 2010- 3 PC- 2 Years subscription costs 8064INR

Does ANYONE know how the HELL does the rule of bulk add costs? I mean Walmart delivers the value by bulk and here we something that’s simply outrageous!Similar Posts:

New Type of Cyber “Para”

Kenney Jacob — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:07:47 +0000

I got a friends request from an orkut profile and the screen shot follows. This is a new generation cyber attack. You could be a victim tomorrow.

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